Edward Chapman Movies

Based on The Hand and the Flower, a novel by Jerrard Tickell, A Day to Remember stars Stanley Holloway as Charley Porter, captain of London darts team. When the team travels to the French town of Boulogne for the annual darts tournament, a good time is had by all--and more besides. Jim Carver (Donald Sinden), one of the team's members, is reunited with a little French girl he'd befriended during the war, who has now developed into a beautiful young woman (Odelle Versois). And Fred Collins (James Hayter) makes a poignant journey to the hotel where he'd honeymooned with his late wife (Brenda DeBanzie). The film works best as a low-key comedy-drama; it is least successful when it ventures into O. Henry territory and strains for "surprise" story twists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, an American learns that he is an English earl. He travels to Great Britain to run his estate. Mayhem ensues when he falls in love with a girl there. His girl friend back home is not amused until she finds a new love of her own. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Ava Gardner was never more alluring than as the half-caste heroine of Bhowani Junction. Set during India's battle for independence from Britain, the film begins with Gardner returning to her native land after spending several years in England. Her true loyalties, and her own sense of who she really is, are put to the test by the two men in her life: Stewart Granger, whose job it is to prevent saboteurs from destroying the trains at Bhowani Junction, and Bill Travers, another half-caste. When she kills a potential rapist in self-defense, Gardner is given comfort by Communist insurrectionist Peter Illing, further dividing her fidelities. A climactic attempt on the life of Mahatma Gandhi provides a rousing finish to this romantic melodrama. Bhowani Junction was adapted from the novel by John Masters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of several British films produced and directed by American moviemaker Larry Trimble, Caste gets under way when the hero, played by Sir John Hare, defies his family's wishes and marries a chorus girl. Disgraced in the eyes of "proper" society, Hare deserts his new wife and joins his regiment in South Africa, where he is later reported to be missing in action. Meanwhile, Hare's wife returns to her old neighborhood and bears her husband's child. Several years pass before the very-much-alive Hare returns to entreat his wife's forgiveness. Though billed first, the delightful Peggy Hyland was wasted in the role of the hero's wisecracking sister. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The third of the droll British "Doctor" series, Doctor at Large once more stars Dirk Bogarde as young Dr. Simon Sparrow. Back in his old stamping grounds at St. Swithin's Teaching Hospital, Sparrow misses his chance at becoming chief surgeon when he crosses swords with the formidable Sir Lancelot Spratt (James Robertson Justice). Forced to go job hunting, our hero undergoes a variety of hilarious medical and romantic misadventures before ending up right where he started. Some of the film's best scenes involve shapely nurse Nan, played by Shirley Eaton of Goldfinger fame. Like its predecessors, Doctor at Large was based on characters created by real-life medico George Gordon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Best known today as the wife of famed caricaturist Al Hirschfield, actress Dolly Haas enjoyed a long and fruitful career in England and Europe. One of Haas' best vehicles is the gender-bending British farce Girls Will Be Boys, in which she plays the granddaughter of the Duke of Bridgewater (Cyril Maude). Because her name in the film is "Pat," our heroine is assumed to be a boy by her woman-hating grandpop, and she does nothing to dissuade him of this belief, dressing up in drag when she goes to meet him for the first time. The rest of the picture is a reverse Charley's Aunt, with Pat endeavoring to be "one of the guys" under the most trying of circumstances (yes, she even smokes a cigar at one point). For a one-joke film, Girls Will be Boys is surprisingly substantial, managing to keep the audience amused for 71 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this musical, a frail artist is victimized by a con artist who cheats her out of her life savings. Two window washers named Willie stop the girl from sinking any lower and simultaneously fall in love with her. They help her become an incredibly popular singer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this British drama a veteran laborer rises above the turmoil of unionization to become the governor of Artista, an industrial island that finds itself further embroiled in a terrible fight over low pay and terrible working conditions. A strike ensues, but the new governor remembers what it feels like to be an abused working stiff and so refuses to call out troops to break the strike. He tries to use his experiences on both sides of the fence to mediate between the angry laborers, but it's to no avail and the governor must make a difficult decision. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on the Rumer Godden novel An Episode of Sparrows, Innocent Sinners stars June Archer and Christopher Hey as the title characters. Neglected by her mother, contentious little Lovejoy (Archer) runs off to an abandoned London building, where with the help of several street urchins she begins to build a tiny garden as a home-away-from-home. Misunderstood by the film's adult authority figures, Lovejoy is carted off to a charity home, from which she is rescued by her new friends, including street-smart Tip (Hey). Among the few sympathetic grownups in the film are David Kossoff and Barbara Mullen as a pair of likeable restauranteurs, and Flora Robson and Catherine Lacey as the standard golden-hearted old crones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After the war, British films began avoiding the heiresses and lordships that had dominated the drama field and began pursuing "realism" -- which often was just as artificial as the earlier white-telephone pictures. John McCallum plays Tommy Swann, a product of the working class who tries to better himself by becoming a criminal. Escaping from prison, Swann hides out in the East London home of his former mistress Rose (Googie Withers), who has since married George Sandigate (Edward Chapman). The film is told from Swann's point-of-view, and a dismal view that is. Nor does Rose seem any happier with her drab lot in life. Swann's return does nothing but further their misery, tearing Rose' family apart and sending Swann back into the arms of the law. Considered a tension-laden slice of life in 1949, It Always Rains on Sunday seems a bit contrived today, though it does full justice to the Arthur La Bern novel on which it is based -- especially when the film leaves the environs of the house and zeroes in on its colorful roster of bit actors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Barbara Mullen stars as Jeannie, a spirited Scots girl who comes into an inheritance. She heads for her family castle after encountering numerous adventures on a Continental holiday. Jeannie also finds romance in the form of handsome washing machine salesman Stewart Granger, who wins out over the romantic overtures of gigolo Albert Lieven. Based on a play by Aimee Stewart, Jeannie overcame its attenuated budget with a plethora of good cheer, enabling the film to garner good reviews on both sides of the Atlantic (in America, the film was retitled Girl in Distress). The story was musicalized for its 1957 remake, Let's Be Happy, in which the heroine (Vera-Ellen) was changed into an American girl who comes to Scotland, rather than using the Highlands as a starting point. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Alfred Hitchcock's second talkie was a surprisingly static adaptation of the Sean O'Casey stage drama Juno and the Paycock. Set during the Irish "troubles" of the early 1920s, the film focuses on the trials and tribulations of a typical Dublin tenement family. Sara Allgood is brilliant as family matriarch Juno Boyle, who must contend with her bibulous, braggadocio husband, Captain Jack Boyle (Edward Chapman), known as the "paycock" because he always struts around like he owns the world. As Captain Jack carouses with his drinking buddy Joxer Daly (Sydney Morgan), Juno tries to keep her family together, a task that proves harder with each passing day, especially when daughter Mary (Kathleen O'Regan) is impregnated by her irresponsible boyfriend. Things take a tragic turn when Juno's weakling son Johnny (John Laurie), a member of the IRA, is shot as an informer by his own comrades. Sara Allgood's scenes after the death of her son are absolutely heart-wrenching, offering ample compensation for Hitchcock's plodding direction and the hopelessly hammy performance by Edward Chapman. Many of the supporting actors were drawn from the ranks of Dublin's Abbey Players, notably Barry Fitzgerald, making his film debut as The Orator. Juno and the Paycock was adapted for the screen by Hitchcock and his wife Alma Reville. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this actioner, a flashy young lawyer successfully defends some saboteurs. His friends and family are appalled as are the police. When the attorney is drafted he soon discovers that the people he defended are now using guided missiles. He decides to stop them anyway he can. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide